SnapSnapSnap March the Pats

In the time it takes to read this sentence the New England Patriots could run two plays. That's an exaggeration. But the pace of Patriot play running this season is so furious that they're on the verge of breaking an NFL record.

The Patriots have run 1,116 plays this season, and if they run 84 in Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins they will break the record for most plays from scrimmage in a season, a record currently held by the 1994 Patriots.

Setting a record is no sure thing. The Patriots have averaged 74.4 plays per game this season. But they've run as many as 92 plays in a game.

No other team has come close to their pace in 2012. They've run 102 more plays than the Denver Broncos—more than a full game's worth—and 214 more than the San Francisco 49ers.

This isn't some random statistic. New England has built an entire offense around one tactic: Not wasting time. Players hustle back back to the line of scrimmage. As soon as the team is set, quarterback Tom Brady calls for the snap. "I get on the line and do what he tells me to do," said Patriots tackle Nate Solder. "I have no idea how he does it."

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Of course, the no-huddle offense is a league-wide trend. But other no-huddle practitioners are dogging it compared with New England. The Patriots run no-huddle on 31.4% of their plays. By comparison, the Broncos run more than half their plays without a huddle. But what distinguishes the Patriots is how rarely they consume their full allotment of 40 seconds between plays. When the Broncos aren't in a hurry, quarterback Peyton Manning does everything but belt out a soliloquy from "The Merchant of Venice" before calling for the snap.

"We're snapping it with 28 seconds left on the play clock, and as such you can get three or four plays called in a minute," said Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who sometimes likes to mix quick snaps with slower ones. "There's not a lot of teams that, when you watch them, vary the pace of their offense. It's fairly consistent unless they are in a two-minute mode."

As a result, the Patriots have scored a league-best 529 points. They've even become too fast for technology: The radio technology that McDaniels uses to communicate with Brady goes silent once the ball is snapped, typically re-engaging about four seconds after the end of a play. At times, McDaniels is so eager to get the next play started that he inadvertently calls it in during that dead space, leaving Brady confused about what to run next. McDaniels will then have to push the button again. "There's obstacles to doing it too fast, certainly," McDaniels said with a laugh.

The Patriots' 10-seconds-or-less offense took hold during a spring training camp that multiple players called the toughest of their lives. It was designed to keep players in shape for the breakneck pace to come.

According to wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, the team enters the game with 100-plus plays in their arsenal. That is about 30 or 40 more than the typical offense in the NFL. From there, they have a fluid communication system that lets them know what they are running as quickly as possible. There is also a personnel advantage. Because the Patriots have two hulking tight ends who can catch and block, Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, the team can seamlessly switch between running and throwing within the quick-snap no-huddle, requiring no change of players between snaps.

Anticipating what the Patriots will do next is difficult because there are only a "handful" of plays that the team repeats, even if they reach 90 snaps. In cases where a play is repeated, Lloyd said, the team will typically come up with new routes for receivers to run on the fly.

"It's almost like having four wide receivers out there. If you look at it on paper, it's two tight ends, two wide receivers, one running back. That is where our advantage lies," Lloyd said of the position flexibility in the quick offense. "We can put multiple position groups out there."

The offense has generated some stats that shock even the Patriots: After a game against San Francisco this month, an assistant coach informed Lloyd that the team lined up 96 times and that he lined up on 91 of them. (Plays involving penalties don't count, so snaps can outnumber official plays.)

The Patriots average of 74.4 plays per game is 10 more than the average NFL team. That, players say, represents 10 more opportunities for a long Brady touchdown pass. McDaniels likens the Patriot quest for more plays to the modern baseball strategist's distaste for sacrificing batters. Since teams get only 27 outs in a regulation nine-inning game, why give up a chance for a home run just to move a player to second? Likeswise, a 60-minute football game can be decided by a single long-yardage pass.

The Patriots average 5.8 yards per play when they huddle, compared with 5.6 yards in their hurry-up sets. That means the no-huddle may not carry much of an advantage on a given play—but over time the volume of plays wears out the opposing defense.

McDaniels believes that his fast offense hinders the effectiveness of both the pass-rush and run defense of Patriot opponents. His theory is that defenses practice defending the no-huddle much less than offenses practice running it. McDaniels thinks the quick-snap keeps opposing defenders from relaxing, since they must hustle back to the line of scrimmage in anticipation of the ball being snapped immediately—even when it isn't.

McDaniels doesn't care about breaking a record this weekend. His offense has led the Patriots to an 11-4 record and an AFC East title. His hope is that their fast play-calling will help bring the Patriots their fourth Super Bowl championship.

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